Jonathan Irwin, former blood stock agent, stud owner, publisher and chief executive of the Jack and Jill Foundation, has spoken movingly about the day he was told to take his infant son home to die.
It was 1996 and on the second day of his life Jack Irwin had suffered a catastrophic event which starved his brain of oxygen and left him blind, deaf and unable to swallow. After an extended stay in hospital “we were basically being sent out with a baby to die in our arms”, Mr Irwin recalled.
On arrival home, Mr Irwin and his wife Mary Ann were overwhelmed by the lack of “any help at all” from the health services and the 24-hour care requirements of baby Jack.
Three months after Jack returned home, a neighbour who was a nurse volunteered to help and she was quickly followed by other neighbours, providing much-needed respite.
Desperately needed support
When Jack died 18 months later, Mr Irwin and his wife were left with a passion to deliver the kind of support they had so desperately needed and had received.
They persuaded Mary Guilfoyle to leave her “full-time, pensionable job” in Dublin’s Temple Street hospital and help establish the Jack and Jill Foundation.
The name was chosen partly in memory of Jack Irwin and partly in relation to the nursery rhyme which features a broken crown. The broken crown was appropriate to the charity’s aim to help children with brain injury, said Mr Irwin.
Now 20 years later having raised €35 million and supported more then 2,000 families through the Jack and Jill Foundation, Mr Irwin is to step down as chief executive.
“It has been good”, he says, particularly mentioning initiatives like the mobile phone recycling scheme which was a big success for the charity and the current fundraising initiative, selling bags of Lego.
“People have it pushed away somewhere and if they give it to us we sell it for €10 a bag which goes most of the way to paying the €16 for an hour’s nursing care”, he says.
Donations
A big part of the charity's Christmas Appeal is to remind its supporters it is looking for Lego donations. The Jack and Jill Foundation also highlighted the challenges of fundraising against the backdrop of more charity scandals.
“It has been really difficult this year, putting more focus on explaining to the public exactly where the money goes with every donation – as it should be,” said Mr Irwin.
The charity has also launched afternoon tea vouchers to mark its 20th anniversary and help generate the €3 million a year it needs to keep going.
Jack and Jill’s Afternoon Tea events are happening throughout 2017 and include:
*The Merrion Hotel – Thursday, February 16th, 2017
* Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa – Sunday, March 5th, 2017
* Mount Juliet – Friday, March 24th, 2017
* Hayfield Manor – Thursday, April 27th, 2017
* Wineport Lodge – Friday, May 19th, 2017
* Cliff at Lyons – Friday, July 14th, 2017
* The Cliff House Hotel – Sunday, July 23rd, 2017
* The Rose Hotel – Saturday, August 5th, 2017
* Harvey’s Point – Saturday, September 23rd, 2017
* Dromoland Castle – Thursday, October 19th, 2017
* Shelbourne Hotel – Thursday, November 16th, 2017
Mr Irwin will hand over to Hugo Jellett who has been working with the charity for the last 12 months. Now 75 years old, will take on the voluntary role of chairman of the charity.
